Harry broke away from swaying in unison with Ginny, and with the hand he'd held at her waist he clasped her hand. He led Ginny away from the mass of dancers. With her peripheral vision, Ginny could see Hermione, looking excited and happy. A slow smile tugged at the corners of Ginny's mouth. She grinned at Hermione, and then was whisked away by Harry. He walked in tandem with Ginny, out into more breathable air. They took a seat at a silver table in a corner of the ballroom. Everything was silver and white, a beautiful illusion of snow. Now that they were away from the dance floor, Ginny noticed that the ballroom smelled like mint. Harry was holding one of her hands.
There were silver utensils, silver napkins at her left. She was sitting on a silver chair, sitting like a queen on her throne. "Ginny, I loved dancing with you." Harry told her, frankly. She was surprised, because she had never heard anyone speak like that before; sweet words in such an honest voice it could have been brutal. She was almost too surprised to blush, but she managed.
"Oh, me too. You're a good dancer," replied Ginny, looking down at their hands. "I – I don't want to say this wrong – Harry. I – can I tell you something?"
"Tell me anything." When he said it, it felt almost like a promise.
"I love everything about you," she said to him. "I love you!" She felt her knees trembling beneath the fabric of her blue dress, pale like a winter branch. It was snow-colored, too.
"Ginny, can I tell – tell you something?" Harry asked, looking curiously at her face. Inside her head, Ginny felt remarkably calm.
"Yeah, tell me anything." She felt his grip tighten on her hand, and she moved her other hand into his grasp.
"I love you, Ginny, did you know?" He sounded surprised, observed Ginny. She looked at him, slowly from ear to ear, and came back to his eyes, two bejeweled eyes, which stored a world. "I – whenever I've seen you, talked with you, it all comes back to the way you are . . . Gin." Harry's breath caught on the last syllable, a hiccup of air. He slowly took one hand off of her two and gently laid it on her cheek. Ginny did the same, was entranced. They sat together, heads coming closer and closer. Far behind them, on the dance floor, couples swayed and sighed, mindlessly catering the demands of a pensive song. Closer, people muttered and chattered, conversation unending. And between Ginny's pink face and Harry sweaty one was air, and only air, which was so kind enough to let their faces through to lean into a single kiss.